Andrew's ENT Visit

We had our appointment with Ear Nose & Throat Specialist, Dr Milo today. He was very personable. Andrew opened right up when Dr Milo said he needed to look for Mater in his ears and Lighting McQueen in his nose. He knew exactly what three year old boys like. When Andrew opened up his mouth Dr Milo exclaimed "Holy tonsils Batman". Those need to come out. On the same 1-4 scale the pulmonologist used Andrew's are now a four. The doctor compared their size & consistency to meatballs. No wonder he is having trouble breathing & swallowing food.

We also lucked out and Andrew had one of his many nose bleeds while we were there. So while Andrew is under anesthesia Dr Milo will also cauterize some of the blood vessels in his nose to help prevent those.

Andrew is booked for surgery at Akron Children's Hospital on August 22nd.

Andrew Update

Lots of you have been asking about the results of Andrew's sleep test. We met with the pulmonologist and the test result show he does indeed stop breathing while he is sleeping but not long enough to be classified as sleep apnea. Since his symptoms are still disrupting his sleep we opted to follow up with an ear, nose and throat specialist. We have an appointment with Dr Milo of Akron ENT next week.

Makin' Jam

My mom and I took the kids out to Walnut Drive Gardens in Suffield to pick raspberries. In all we picked about 10 pounds of red, black and purple raspberries. Yummo! The kids really enjoyed themselves and even followed directions not to eat the berries before weigh in; mommy didnt. :)


We froze a couple pounds and made the rest into jam. Ummmmmm!

Vacation Wrap Up

After departing the Bradenton Beach area we headed north. Stopping off at Downtown Disney for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Then hit the Goofy Candy Shop where Sydney was selected as "Chef of the Day". Dressed in an apron & hat she got to select and decorate specialty treat. Disney staff really goes out of their way to make kids feel special. Syd chose the chocolate covered rice krispie. They announced her name and where she was from then brought over a tray of toppings for her to chose from.




Soon we were back on the road headed north of Atlanta to meet up with my cousin Natalie. She also has a daughter named Sydnee who is only a couple weeks older than our Sydney. We get together a couple times a year and the girls have a great time. This time we rented a cabin together in the mountains of Helen, GA a German village along the Chatahoochie River. The highlight was "Tubin the Hooch". For $3.00 you get a hot pink inter tube and a bus ride up the mountain. Then you take a 3 hour float back to town down the Chatahoochie River. I wish I had pictures but I didnt want to risk waterlogging my camera. Our four tubes were tethered together which caused us to get hung up on rocks & beaver dams, but we had a great time and workout. Sydney was very tentative as usual. Andrew was so comfortable he slept for about 45 minutes.


Wow! boy has Andrew's swimming skills improved during our vacation. He was a fish before and now he's a dolphin. He went from swimming assisted to swimming alone across the pool. He was so excited to show off for his swim teacher today.

Sea Turtles

During our vacation had the opportunity to join the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Association for a nesting tour. In July, Loggerhead & Green Sea Turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. We drug the kids down to Manatee Beach early one morning to meet our guide. A Loggerhead did come ashore but had already returned to the sea by the time we arrived.



However, she dug her nest too close to the shore line and would be washed out in the next storm. The Turtle Watch team needed to relocate the nest within the next hour; before the embryos attach to the eggs.



A little less than 2 feet under the sand we found 84 ping pong ball sized eggs. They were carefully placed in a bucket with some sand for the move up the beach. A new hole was dug and the eggs were gently covered back up and marked off. The nest is due to hatch on Sept. 1st. Wish we could be there for the birth.

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

We stopped off at Sarasota Jungle Gardens yesterday. This little jem was a big hit and quenched Andrew's need to see an alligator. For weeks leading up to our trip he has been telling me how alligators live in Florida. And, yesterday he got to see one up close. He opted not to hold it but was more than happy to give it a little belly rub.



There are not a lot of zoos left who let you interact with the wildlife. Sydney is afraid of birds especially ones bigger than her. So, she was not happy to see the free roaming flamingos.



Nor was she trilled about the over 2 dozen parrots & macaws they have in their rehab center. Andrew chose to be photographed with Fortune, who won our hearts by mimicking just about any tune you could whistle.

Independence Day 2008

Happy July 4th everyone! We spent the majority of the day driving to Florida. But, we did arrive at Pam's house in time for the neighborhood picnic & fireworks.



Andrew's enjoyed his first sparkler while Sydney hid inside.